OK, I was mistaken: THIS is the week PS3 comes out in America. How many of you are getting it? I sure as hell aren't!
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Steve looked at his blue-skinned foe that had been sent flying away by Feng Wei before turning to the bronze-clad Chinese man. Minutes before, Steve and the other Shinkengers had arrived at the Zozoji temple to meet up with Hwoarang to see if Jin was ready to resume leadership of the team. They were surprised to learn from the Korean that Steve had supposedly already met up with him and said to greet the others at the front gate, though the British warrior had been with the others the entire time.
The answer to such a paradox was soon answered as Kenichi, who had gone on ahead to visit the inner sanctum, was tossed from the long flight of stairs by a giant monster who Xiaoyu claimed to be the monstrous God of Fighting: Ogre. The six Shinkengers quickly engaged their blue-skinned adversary, but not even their combined might could topple the shape-shifting behemoth. With the ability to assume the powers of anyone whose genetice material it acquired, the monster dispatched the young martial artists one by one, until only Steve was left standing.
But when the boxer prepared to engage the monster one-on-one, Feng Wei attacked "Ogre" from behind and sent him crashing into a brick wall. The Chinese man was wearing the very same armor that he used when he attacked Steve that day before, and all Steve could wonder was if Feng was there to help him, or finish him off personally.
"Out of my way, Steve Fox," Feng said as he brushed back his cape and spun the chain jutting from his helmet around. "This is my fight now: interfere at your own peril!" Once Feng had issued his warning, he rushed pasted the blue-clad Englishman and prepared to engage the doppelganger that was already back on its feet. Well, I guess that answers my concerns for now, Steve thought as he watched False Ogre snatched Feng out of the air when the Chinese man attempted a flying kick and slam the muscular Asian into the brick wall that it had just crashed into moments ago. But what's going to happen once it's all over?
Feng quickly shook off the dizziness induced from being slammed into a brick wall just in time to side-step a devastating punch from False Ogre. The force of the creature's blow was so intense that it punched a hole through the thick wall and allowed its fist to enter the innards of the wall. As False Ogre struggled to remove his hand from the formation of bricks, Feng again tried for a powerful flying kick. This time, the bronze warrior hit his mark and hit False Ogre in the head. A sharp cracking sound was heard, and the doppelganger suddenly slumped forward as its glowing eyes gradually faded.
No way, Steve watched in wonder, totally in disbelief at what he just witnessed. He broke the bloke's neck like it was nothing!
Suddenly, False Ogre's free arm sprung to life and grabbed a startled Feng's throat. With its head still grotesquely dangling lifelessly, the doppelganger tossed Feng into the hard ground with a power with a fearsome choke slam. The doppelganger placed its foot on Feng's chest as to hold him still, then grabbed its head and twisted it. After a few seconds of cracking and popping, its neck had returned to its proper position.
Roaring in pain as False Ogre stomped on his chest, Feng grabbed its long blue leg as it attempted a fifth stop. With his hands glowing bright red, the Chinese man dug his hands into its ankles and ripped its foot off. Now free of False Ogre's crushing leg, Feng rolled away as the doppelganger's foot regenerated while it hopped after the Chinese man.
Despite that its foot was still in the process of regenerating itself, False Ogre proved no less dangerous a foe, attacking Feng with a series of punches: a pair of left handed fists followed by a right straight then sent him screeching across the ground. As Feng scrambled back onto his feet, he was rewarded for his tenacity with a powerful punt to his chest that sent him flying into the great cedar tree that highlighted the temple with his new, fully regenerated foot.
The Chinese warrior landed on his hands and flipped back onto his feet as he quickly examined his ShinkenBronze suit for any dents or scratches. After a few seconds to make sure that his suit was fully intact, he let out a shout and entered his Kempo stance with his hands open. Feng quickly used his head to motion the doppelganger towards him. False Ogre complied by rushing at its opponent at a full run. Unfortunately for False Ogre, it was just the reaction that Feng was hoping for, and was punished for its hasty action with a spinning backhanded fist to its neck. Temporarily stunned, False Ogre gripped its neck in pain and was left vulnerable to a punch to his chest that was quickly followed by a forward palm that forced it flying away from Feng.
False Ogre landed on its feet and screeched to a halt by crouching down and skidding on its knee. It remained in that position for a few moments, remaining perfectly still while its crimson eyes continued to glow softly. The creature's simple mind became gradually more complex as it replayed the past events of the battle that it was currently engaged in. This "ShinkenBronze" was unexpected: it had not acquired any sort of genetic material nor psychological profile on him when it left its master's side. "Who was this man?" Its simple mind asked itself as False Ogre stood back up. "What business did he have with my master?"
So engrossed was it in its train of thought that False Ogre did not see Feng get close enough to him and ramming his elbow into the creature, causing it to be sent sprawling right back into the brick wall that it had collided with the first time the Chinese man had struck it. This time however, Feng Wei was not about to let the creature get a chance to breathe. Running up to the creature, the bronze-clad warrior resumed his assault with a powerful arcing vertical kick that hit the doppelganger squarely in its chin. Feng followed up with a second arcing kick, forcing False Ogre to flying into the air with its back still pressed against the wall. The monster was further pressed into the wall with Feng Wei continuing the offensive with a monstrous elbow thrust. The Chinese warrior finally concluded its onslaught with a rapid series of swipes with the claws jutting from his knuckles.
Feng Wei flipped away and waited for False Ogre to come after him. The Kempo expert's breathing was heavy and sweat was pouring down his face beneath his helmet. Beneath the mask, he was smiling. The more this creature withstood his attacks, the more violently it would retaliate. It would seem that he had found a truly worthy opponent in the blue-skinned behemoth…
However, Steve had brashly run in front of Feng as False Ogre came running at him, sending it flying backwards with a devastating Hellfire blow that left a flash of ki in its wake. "You fool," Feng growled as he grabbed Steve from behind. "You cost me a victory that would have been earned by myself!" Using all of his mighty strength, Feng angrily threw Steve behind him as far as he could, but the British man landed on his feet gracefully.
"Listen, I'm not trying to rain on your parade," Steve protested as he ran back up to Feng Wei. "I'm trying to keep you from getting beaten down like the rest of us. Haven't you noticed how he keeps regenerating himself? Maybe if we tried approaching him-"
Steve was unable to finish his sentence as Feng attacked him with a forward palm that the British boxer barely had time to avoid. "I warned you to stay out of my way. Now you will suffer the consequences under my Hand of Judgment!"
"What?" Steve backed away as he put down his fists and crossed his arms. "Don't be daft: I'm not going to fight you right here and now…especially not with ol' blue there coming after you."
Feng darted around just in time to get a boot in his face, sending him flying backwards and landing on his back with a sickening thud. As False Ogre was about to pursue, Steve once again stepped in and pummeled the creature with a rapid flurry of jabs to the gut, concluding with a devastating uppercut that caused it to reel back in pain.
False Ogre flipped back onto its feet and retaliated with a two of kicks, the first two striking at Steve's shin and the last of which rocketing Steve up into the air with vertical straight kick. Using its incredible leaping ability, False Ogre leapt up after its foe with a awe-inspiring vertical jump. The doppelganger pummeled Steve with a rapid series of blows and concluded by snatching him out of the air and spiraling downwards. The two hit the ground with Steve's head landing in the dirt after being victim to what appeared to be a spinning pile driver.
Steve instinctively rolled away while trying to shake off the dizziness induced from such a technique. "That's the third time in as many days someone has spun me around like a top," the Englishman shouted to False Ogre as he resumed his fighting stance. "How would you like it if I spun you around like mad?"
With that being said, Steve grabbed False Ogre and spun him around. As the doppelganger moved its head in confusion, Steve leapt up and grabbed its neck, causing the monster to lean down backwards. Once its head was low enough so that Steve could hold onto it while standing, the Englishman pummeled False Ogre's temple with a series of deadlocked punches. The doppelganger's head was released as Steve's final punch elicited a flash of sparks.
Before Steve could continue striking the dazed monster, he was sent careening into the creature with a massive blow from behind. It was, of course, Feng Wei "punishing" Steve for stealing his thunder. What is with this guy's ego, Steve thought as he quickly got off of False Ogre before the doppelganger could latch onto him for one of those dreadful strangleholds. I'm starting to wonder that there's an ulterior motive to him wanting to go solo like this: Feng may be arrogant, but I doubt he's stupid enough to refuse help against someone like this…
With his path once again cleared, False Ogre attacked his new foe with fearsome uppercut that sent Feng spiraling into the air. Looking up into the air, False Ogre utilized its flame throwing capabilities to scorch the bronze warrior in mid-air. The force of the flame jet sent the Chinese man blowing away like a leaf in the wind. Once Feng as out of the flame jet's reach, he began to plummet to the ground…
…but was saved from what would have been a devastating fall by Steve, who caught the bulky warrior and toppled onto the ground in his stead. Feng looked down at Steve for a moment and prepared to stomp on his chest. "Why do you continue to help me when I have already stated that I do not wish for your assistance?" The Chinese man asked with curiosity as it looked through Steve's blue helmet. "I told you: do not associate me with your friends. ShinkenBronze does not-"
"You don't like interference, I know," Steve put his arms up in innocence. "However, this has nothing to do with being a Shinkenger bloke. This is about putting your life on the line for your fellow man. This monster is insanely powerful, and it just would be kosher of me to just let you fall like that, now would it?"
Feng thought about this for a moment. Steve watched as Feng remained perfectly still with his foot still hovering over his chest. After what seemed like an eternity but was in truth only eight seconds, Feng put his foot down next to Steve and allowed the British boxer to stand back up. "I told you before, I do not need your help," the Chinese man said bitterly. "However, what you did just now was a nice gesture, so I will allow you to assist me."
"Very good, guv," Steve smiled beneath his helmet and put his hands in front of him with his left fist pressing against his palm on the opposite hand, bowing in the traditional Chinese custom. "Now how about we show this creature some manners?" Shaking Feng's hand, the two fighters bashed the oncoming doppelganger in the chest with their conjoined fists. The force of such a blow caused the creature's chest to implode and create a massive hole in its body.
Not giving the creature a chance to react, Steve and Feng pummeled the creature with a series of punches, sending the monster flying backwards right back into the brick temple wall that it was becoming acquainted to for the past few minutes with a simultaneous haymaker.
Suddenly, the creature's body began to fluctuate rapidly, as if it was starting to lose its form. False Ogre looked at its body in surprise, totally not expecting its body to be reacting like that. The creature's face seemed to change shape into something far more sinister as it roared and howled in pain. Feng and Steve could only watch on in horror as the doppelganger began to mutate.
When the mutating stopped, what lay before the two warriors was something far different from what they had been fighting. Its new form had the head of a lion, the body of a dragon, and a snake for its right arm. The creature's body was greenish-blue in color, with its left hand being a massive claw and its feet being sharp talons. With its tail banging in rage and the two leathery wings in its back flapping in fury, the creature roared as it shot out another devastating stream of fire at the two heroes.
However, Feng was prepared. Standing in front of Steve, The sapphire jewel on his left side of his chest shined brighter than the setting sun as he stomped his foot on the ground and shot his palm out at the jet stream like a policeman sticking his hand out to a fleeing civilian telling him to stop. The jet stream bounced off Feng's outstretched hand and redirected upwards into the air, creating a 90 degree angle between the origin of the blast from False Ogre's mouth and Feng's icy blue hand altering its course.
The mutated doppelganger was so preoccupied with Feng that it didn't even notice that Steve was no longer in front of it hiding behind Feng, but now running up towards its left with his fists shining bright blue. False Ogre's jet-stream was instantly stopped as Steve punched it in its feline face with a devastating Eraser blow. False Ogre roared in agony as its snake-arm shot out at Steve and shot out a glowing green liquid. Steve bent over backwards to avoid the spray and watched as it hit a lantern and melted it instantly.
Steve corrected himself and slammed his fist down on the creature's head as he came back up, and then resumed his assault with a one-two combination of punches. Steve counted to himself as he continued his onslaught with a succession of attacks. After the one-two combination, he pressed onward with two left-handed punches to the creature's stomach. As the creature bent over in pain, it received another punch in its jaw from Steve's right hook. The blue-clad warrior followed up with two left-handed blows: one to False Ogre's hip an one to its ankle. As False Ogre crouched in pain, Steve reared back with his right fight shining brighter than any star…
…as it came in contact with False Ogre's mouth and shattered its fangs like candy glass with a monstrous Hellfire blow. The doppelganger was sent flying backwards, its leathery wings doing nothing to slow down his flight into the edge of the inner sanctum stairwell. Steve quickly backed away from the creature as it roared while its body once again began to change form.
This time, however, it would not turn into anything that resembled any sort of living creature.
The creature's body melted as if it was sinking into itself. Its snake-arm reached high in the sky in vain as it contined to melt. In time, the roars began to become muffled as its own liquid body began to drown its head. When it was all done, False Ogre was a twitching blob of navy blue goo. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any less dangerous an opponent.
False Ogre (or what was left of it), pounced on Steve and stuck onto the English warrior's neck like a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of a shoe. Steve gagged as the venomous blob attempted to strangle to life out of him, just as it tried to strangle the life out of Jin and Xiaoyu when it still had a form. Steve tried to grab onto the goo, but it would simply reform itself around Steve's neck, avoiding his hands but still maintaining its vice-like hold. I refuse to have it end like this, Steve thought to himself as he contined to stuggle wildly. I refuse to meet my end at the behest of a glob of snot!
Suddenly, Steve noticed that the wind was beginning to pick up, and before he knew what was going on, both he and the blob were being blown away by what seem to be hurricane winds. The gust was so strong that False Ogre released its hold on the Englishman and landed on the ground with a splat. Steve looked to his right, and saw the source of the wind: Feng's hand, which was now glowing bright green in correspondence to the emerald on the right side of his chest shining like a star. So far he seems to able to control ice and wind, Steve thought as he ran over to Feng's side and get away from the blob. I wonder what else he can do…
The Englishman turned back to the blob that was once False Ogre and saw it rapidly approach his fallen comrades. "Oh, no you don't!" The one called Shinkenblue ran up to the blob with his hands cupped together at his hip and crackled with raw power. As the oozing creature was just about to reach up and latch onto Xiaoyu, Steve fired off a blast of blue energy that caused the creature to back away from the unconscious Chinese woman and spasm uncontrollably. "SHINKEN ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE: TEKKENSHU MAELSTROM!"
As the creature contorted trying to assume a new shape, Feng shoved Steve aside while his bronze armor began to flare up and shine like the raging sun. With the ruby in the center of his chest burning furiously, Feng's left hand ignited as it grabbed the goo with his red-hot palm. The glob sizzled and whined as it began to lose its pigment. After a few seconds, it had become whiter thank a piece of chalk and taken the shape of a perfectly round sphere about the size of a beach ball.
Feng tossed the ball into the air and stomped his right foot on the ground as he crackled with his orange-pigmented ki. All three jewels on his chest shined like a consolation in the night sky as the sun finally set and bathed the area in darkness. As the white-hot ball came down, Feng shot both his orange-tinted palms into the air as fire, ice, and wind simultaneous came into contact with the ball. "Behold…my Hand of Judgement!"
The ball cracked upon impact of his hands: the fissures were small at first, but they gradually became deeper and spread across the chalk-like sphere. After a few seconds, the fissures burned right orange and surrounded the ball. The doppelganger ball, completely carbonized, exploded as deep cold and intense heat bombarded it. Steve blocked his face from the debris (even though his helmet protected him from the stone shards) and assessed the damage. "And that's the end of that. Thanks for the assist."
Feng scoffed as he looked at the coin-sized granule that was left in his hand and turned away from Steve. "Do not become accustomed to events like these: the next time we meet, we'll probably be enemies."
"And why does it have to be that way, mate?" Steve ran past Feng and stopped in front of him. "Listen, I know Asuka and Wulong say that you're a real piece of work, but I've seen you operate. Why can't we help each other out?"
"Steve Fox, I will admit that you are a valiant warrior," the Chinese man turned his gaze away from the shard in his hand and back towards Steve, "but I work alone. It is as simple as that. If I decide otherwise, however, I will be certain to notify you." Feng began to walk away from the boxer, but stopped when he was about to pass the unconscious Asuka. The muscular martial artist looked at her for a few seconds without moving a muscle, and then said to Steve without breaking his gaze, "You should attend to your friends: I'm sure they require medical attention."
"…ta-ta, guv," Steve replied with a nod as he attended to his comrades while Feng continued on his way. "I do hope you'll change your mind…"